The Many Adventures of Faith & Grace: A Sequel to Salvation
by Bumbling Bard
Summary: This is the story of Gabrielle and Xena as parents and grandparents - told through the various adventures of their daughter Faith and their granddaughter Grace. It is the sequel to Salvation and includes Xena, Gabrielle, Eve, Lysandra, Varia and of course, Gabriel. Lots of adventure. Certainly some romance. Plenty of laughs. AND most of all A TON of LOVE! Take the journey!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Best Friends

"We can get across," the small blonde haired girl said confidently.

"I don't know, Faith… look at how far apart those rocks are. If we go back there wet – your mother is gonna' kill us."

"Eh what are you worried about? She won't kill YOU."

"Yeah… well maybe Grandma won't kill me, but when she tells Grandmother - my mother will."

Faith laughed. "It's water, Grace…it dries."

"Okay… but if we get sent to the stables – YOU are baling the hay!" The dark haired girl cautioned.

Faith and Grace were best friends; an inseparable and unlikely pair. At 10 years old they had spent their childhood in each other's company almost daily. The pair were born almost exactly three weeks apart and were like sisters, though in truth Faith was Grace's aunt. Faith was the taller of the two. The young girl looked a great deal like her mother; the bard. Her hair was reddish blonde and it glistened in the sun and her eyes were a striking green. But, she was taller than the bard; and built much more like her older mother; strong and athletic. And, she was blessed; or perhaps her parents were cursed; with the reality that her personality was an equal blend of both. She was confident and intelligent and she loved adventure.

Grace was three weeks older but a bit shorter than her best friend and a tad more reserved; though her demeanor was deceptive. She loved exploring and she would follow Faith anywhere. From the moment Faith was born the two seemed to be connected; always wanting to be close to one another; like twins. Grace had grown to look like her mother although her mother insisted she was her father's daughter. She had dark hair; but her eyes were hazel more like his and they occasionally appeared green just like her friend's. Many times people asked if the two were sisters. The girls found it amusing and sometimes would simply nod and smile. The smaller of the two also served as a compass for the pair. She grounded Faith who was at times fearless to her own detriment. The smaller girl tempered her friend's desire to explore, while Faith encouraged Grace to see the possibility in everything. They were a perfect pair.

"All right," Faith said stepping out onto a flat rock and gauging the distance. She framed the scene with her hands and smiled with delight. Any challenge was welcome. "Okay…so you follow me, Grace…all right?"

"Yep." Grace stood dutifully behind her best friend. "Are you sure we can make this?"

Faith turned to Grace. "Just look over there at that bush? We bring back this bucket full of berries and we won't have to wash dishes for a week!"

"Maybe you won't," Grace said.

"Nah – you won't… Mother will be so happy she'll make Eve give you a break and you know she'll do whatever my mother says."

"Maybe….IF we make it," the smaller girl laughed.

"Ah – we'll make it." With her final declaration Faith set out on her mission. In her mind it was not simply a berry picking effort. She was off to save a village, rescue some helpless traveler or she was defending the Amazon Nation. With an almost effortless jump Faith landed squarely on the next rock. Grace steadied herself to follow and put her body into motion when a deep voice startled her.

"What on earth are you two doing," the voice yelled. In an instant the young girl found herself in the river; muddy and wet; a hand reaching down to her and pulling her up.

"Great, Gabriel… thanks a lot," Faith called back from a few feet away on the rock.

Gabriel shook his head. He often found his sister and his aunt in the middle of some scheme that they knew was ill advised; but that never seemed to stop them. He tried not to snicker. "What…" he began to ask what they were doing when Faith pointed to the berries across the water on the other riverbank. "You're trying to cross the river for berries?" He asked with skepticism. Faith lifted her hand to the sky as if to say 'of course'. "Yeah… well…Let's go. Faith…" he called her back to him.

Faith grumbled to herself. Gabriel had become less and less fun over the years, she thought. He was eighteen now and he had become more protective every year. She loved him but she wished he wouldn't constantly try and shield them. That seemed to be Gabriel's mission in life and it drove Faith insane sometimes. If her parents weren't around or her sister wasn't keeping an eye on them; you could be certain Gabriel was not far off. She huffed again and went to make her jump. She slipped on some moss that had gathered on the rock and tumbled into the water. When she tried to stand she found that she had twisted her ankle and it was lodged between two tocks beneath the surface. The girl winced slightly and struggled to free her foot; though she had to admit she was concerned how she would walk back even if she managed to break it lose. "Come on," Gabriel called as he offered Grace a hand out of the water. "Faith…. Quit playing around… let's go."

Faith couldn't move and she fell squarely back on her bottom. "Great!" She screamed in frustration and embarrassment.

Gabriel realized the girl was stuck. "Stay here," he looked at his younger sister who nodded sheepishly. The young man made his way carefully through the rocky water to the spot where Faith had become entangled. "Are you all right?" He asked genuinely. She nodded. "Okay… hold onto my shoulder; I'll get you out." The girl had no choice but to accept his help. He spent several minutes working her foot free; receiving a grimace of pain every now and then. "You sprained it," he said.

"Yeah… GREAT," Faith muttered as he carried her to the shore. "So… go on give us the lecture," Faith said.

Gabriel laughed. He was a handsome young man. His blonde hair and his piercing blue eyes drew nearly everyone to him on sight. But, it was his nature that made people want to linger in his presence. He was kind, gentle and always concerned with others. And, as much as Faith sometimes hated to admit it, she loved him every bit as much as she knew he loved her. "No lecture. You'll get enough of that when I get you home." Faith sighed. Gabriel laughed. "Hop on…you can't walk back." Faith was happy to comply although she would never have told him that. Piggy backs had become a thing of the past. The girls were getting older now. Faith would hate for her nephew to know it, but she missed the piggy backs and the tickle fights. He was busy with the Elijans and busy helping with village affairs now. She missed him.

Grace walked alongside her older brother occasionally looking up to him. She worshipped him and she was secretly glad he had shown up when he did. "Are you gonna' tell Mother?" She asked him with a tinge of fear.

Gabriel smiled. "Grace…Faith is hurt…I don't think we can avoid Mother finding out."

"Maybe Grandma won't tell her."

The young man shook his head as they approached the tavern. He looked at the innocent face before him. Grace reminded him of their father; a father his sister never knew; and his heart always melted when their eyes met. "Just be honest…..Both of you," he sweetly suggested as he walked through the door.

"What in Tartarus happened?" A woman emerging from the kitchen asked as the young man deposited Faith in a chair. The young girl looked up to eyes that matched her own and bit her lip. "Ummm… I see," Gabrielle looked at her daughter and then at her granddaughter. No matter what befell them the bard's eyes always twinkled in the presence of her children and grandchildren. She let out a strong sigh and turned to Gabriel. "The river, I take it?" He nodded. "So…what happened?" There was no answer as Faith looked to the floor and Grace shuffled her feet.

"Berries," Gabriel lifted an eyebrow to his grandmother.

"Berries?" She asked for clarification.

Grace took a step forward as Gabrielle knelt next to her daughter to look at the sore ankle. "There's a lot of them on the other riverbank, Grandma… we found a place with a lot of flat rocks," her granddaughter started to explain.

The bard shook her head. "Faith… this is badly sprained… your mother will want to look at it."

"But….."

"Look at what?" A voice questioned from the doorway. Gabrielle's eyes met her partner's in an instant. No more words needed to be said. "Another adventure?" Xena inquired. Gabrielle nodded. Xena looked at Grace who was sopping wet and exhaled with some force. "River?" The warrior looked at her granddaughter. Grace looked at her feet. Faith waited for the lecture. It didn't come. Now the tall woman resumed the task her smaller mother had begun and her mother went to her best friend.

"Grace… you come with me… let's get you cleaned up and changed. Your mother will be here in a while for dinner….Gabriel… can you..."

"Not a problem," he beamed. "I'll make sure everything is ready for the dinner crowd.

"Thank you, my love," she said to him. In all his life that had never changed. Gabrielle was his hero and he was her Gabriel; forever. He would walk through the fires of hell if he needed to for her. And he knew she would do the same; for any of them. As he grew he understood more and more; just as his mother did; that he and his sister, his mother and his niece; this family owed its life and its soul to the woman he called Auntie for so many years.

"We need to get some cold water on this and get it elevated," Xena said to her daughter.

"You're mad," Faith said quietly to her mother.

"I'm not happy," Xena admitted.

"I could have made it … Gabriel showed up and he…"

"Well… I'm glad that he did. What if Grace couldn't have made it? What if you really got hurt?"

"Mother…I was all right."

"Oh yes… I see THAT, Faith."

"I'm not a little kid." Xena tried not to laugh. "You don't have to always worry about me, you know?"

"Too late. Now, come on… let's soak that in some cold water and get you to your room so we can prop it up."

In the back of the tavern Grace slipped out of her wet clothes and Gabrielle handed her a dry set of Faith's which hung a bit looser than her own. Nevertheless, Grace was grateful to be dry and happy to be with her grandmother. "I'm sorry, Grandma," she said quietly following the bard into the kitchen where her brother had been supervising some of the afternoon tasks.

Gabrielle smiled at the young man. "We're going to take a little walk," she winked at him. He nodded and caught the nervous expression on his sister's face. It made him chuckle as he watched them walk out the back door; his grandmother grabbing a small basket as she left.

"Grandma? Where are we going?"

The woman put an arm around small shoulders and prodded the girl along. "Well, I thought we would just go talk for a little bit before dinner."

"I'm in trouble, huh?"

Gabrielle laughed. She led the girl to a large clearing some distance away where a large tree sat and motioned for her granddaughter to sit. She pulled a small bundle from the basket and as she opened the cloth surrounding it the girl was surprised to see a loaf of nut bread. "Go on," Gabrielle smiled.

"I am sorry, Grandma," the girl said accepting the offering with guilty eyes.

"I know you are. You two need to be careful, Grace. It isn't as if we ask you NOT to do things to make your life boring."

"I know," Grace whispered.

"Mmmmm…Faith likes adventure," the bard said and her granddaughter nodded. "And you love to please Faith." Grace looked down. "Oh… Grace…you two come by that naturally. BUT, you have to be careful. Adventure will find you in its own time. Believe me."

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"OW!" Faith yelped as Xena propped her foot on a pillow.

"Hurts, eh?" The warrior asked receiving a sideways glance in response. "What were you thinking, Faith?"

"I just thought if we got the berries…"

"Oh…berries…. Was it warlords or bandits this time?" The warrior raised an eyebrow.

"You used to jump across the rocks….I even heard you….."

Xena sighed. "Yeah…I did a lot of stupid things. And I paid the price more than once….believe me."

"I could have made it…"

Xena shook her head. "I'll bet that's true." Faith looked at her mother in surprise. "But even if you could that doesn't mean Grace could. And…it doesn't mean you couldn't have an accident either. Just like you did….and don't blame Gabriel," Xena cautioned. "You should be glad he found you."

"If we'd come home with…."

"If you had come home with a bucket of berries your mother would've asked where you got them…. And then you would have either had to lie or she would have been furious….and you know it." Faith huffed. "Faith… we just want you to be safe….and to be _smart_."

"Mother…I want to do all those things you did…"

"No. You don't. You just think you do," Xena said sitting next to the girl on the bed. "I wasn't always smart either."

"Yes you were," her daughter said with confidence.

The warrior laughed. "No. I wasn't; not at all. I was careless and reckless for a long time. Even when I finally learned….there were times when I got hurt…or someone else did. Adventure will find you Faith…believe me…you can't be who you are without that being the truth."

"Yeah when I'm old," the girl grumbled. "Aren't you bored, mother?"

"Bored?"

"Yeah…I mean you go off sometimes and fight…but mostly you are here…I mean with mother and me…It's not like fighting giants and stuff….it's not an adventure."

Xena shook her head. "Oh, Faith… you remind me of your mother."

"What?"

"Yeah… you do… you sound like her when we first met," Xena shook her head with a smile. "She was looking for adventure."

"Mother was?"

"Oh come on…you've heard the stories."

"Yeah, but she's mother….I mean she's…."

Xena laughed. "Faith…I know this will be hard for you to believe…but you are the biggest adventure we have ever had," the warrior's laugh continued.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The girl asked sensing her mother's teasing.

"I'm not really the storyteller in the family," Xena admitted. She looked at her daughter now tenderly. "You don't really know how special you really are, Faith. Someday you will."

"Because my mothers are…"

"Not because of anything we ARE, no….because of what you mean to us." Xena was not generally the one to have heart to heart chats with Faith, but it seemed to the warrior that it was time for a talk. She suspected that Gabrielle would be doing the same thing with Grace. The warrior and the bard often talked about how the girls were so much like both of them. They excelled at finding trouble and they reveled in anything they thought was adventurous. It was just part of who they were. But, they were at an age where they needed more discipline and to understand that the stories they grew up hearing were not simply romantic tales. Amidst the adventures in life there was real emotion, real reward and real consequence. The family that Xena and Gabrielle had now had seen more than its fair share of loss and grief. They hadn't really tried to shield the girls from it, but they did not want to dwell on those things either. In time both knew that the truth would be revealed in very tangible ways to Faith and Grace. The girls both knew that they were special; but their parents had decided early on that they would wait to explain just how special they really were. Xena and Gabrielle and Eve all agreed that the children deserved a childhood that was as free from the chaos that often plagued their lives in the past as possible. "I remember," Xena said quietly, "when we found out that your mother was going to have you."

Faith was curious. Sometimes one of her parents would make a remark or travel into a memory but most of the stories they told about the girls were about when they were born and when they were babies. She looked at her mother. Xena was as confident as she had ever been. Her eyes remained a brilliant blue and they carried within them years of both joy and pain. The warrior was extremely tender with her family; albeit strong and assertive when necessary. She had laugh lines that graced the corners of her eyes and there was just a hint of gray beginning to show itself in her hair. Gray, the warrior often mused that was largely due to the small form in front of her. "Were you glad?" Faith asked surprised that she was almost afraid to hear the answer.

Xena smiled broadly. "Glad? About you?" The woman shook her head. "Well…I was surprised. But yes, Faith…of course I was 'glad'."

"Was mother?'

The warrior looked intently at her daughter. "Faith…our life has never been like other people's. Never. I think you know that." The girl nodded. "Ummm… your mother…. Well… I have never seen her happier or more beautiful than when she was carrying you." Xena's voice softened and her daughter watched in amazement. She often would sit and watch her parents and marvel at them just like her sister always had. Her parents drove her crazy at times but she longed to impress them both. She knew that she and her sister were different somehow. They had two mothers. It was something everyone in Faith's life just seemed to accept but it was not something that anyone else she knew could lay claim to. Eve told her it was a miracle that Eli gave to them all. Faith somehow knew that was true. Just like everyone in her family she understood things intrinsically that others struggled with. But, she was curious and her mother saw the glint in her eye. "So… so you want me to tell you?" Xena asked. Faith nodded.

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"Grandma?" Grace looked across to the bard.

"Yes, Grace?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can," the bard smiled.

"Well… Mother is Faiths sister, right?' Gabrielle nodded. "Okay… and Gabriel is my brother…"

"Yes…."

"But Gabriel calls you Auntie… but Faith is really my aunt and you are really Gabriel's grandmother because if you are my…"

Gabrielle laughed heartily. "Oh Grace… it seems like a complicated family sometimes, doesn't it?" The girl nodded. "Come here," Gabrielle gestured. This was one of Grace's favorite things; spending time with her grandma or her grandmother. They were very different and she loved them both. Gabriel told her many stories. Grace had always been a bit closer to Xena. It was strange because she was very much like the grandma whose lap she now placed her head in. Maybe that was why she loved being with the warrior so much. But as the years passed Grace found that more and more she liked to spend time with Gabrielle. Her brother spent a great deal of time with her grandma. Her mother told her it had always been that way and at the end of the day Grace was her mother's daughter. Eve was Grace's hero and she loved her mother beyond measure. She would often beg her grandma to tell her stories about her parents and Gabrielle was always happy to honor the request. Grace was intuitive just like her brother and she loved to watch Gabrielle's face when she told her stories; particularly about her mother. She never really understood why but it seemed to her that whenever the bard spoke of her mother; her grandma's eyes would glisten with tears.

"You know… your brother asked me a similar question once."

"He did?"

Gabrielle gently brushed the dark hair from her granddaughter's eyes. She loved Grace. The girl looked like her mother but her eyes were Virgil's. Gabrielle missed him. Every time she looked at Grace she saw him there. "He did. Sometimes I think we should all just call each other some crazy made up name like… I don't know ish kabibble… something like that." Grace giggled. "It doesn't really matter what we call each other; does it?"

"I guess not." Grace said.

Gabrielle sensed what she expected was true. Labels didn't matter and yet they did in some strange way. Everyone had a need to know where they fit in a family. If anyone could understand that it was the bard. She still remembered the first time Eve called her 'Mother'. She told herself that didn't matter; but it did. 'Auntie' was the title they had chosen for Gabriel and she had grown used to that and embraced it. But, on the occasions that he called Grandmother or when she heard him refer to her that way in conversation with others; it made her heart sing. The labels didn't change the love, but sometimes thy helped a person understand where he or she fit into everyone's life. "Sometimes it does," Gabrielle admitted. "I understand."

"Is it weird?" Grace asked looking up into green eyes. Gabrielle had changed very little over the years. She was a bit older and she had cut her hair to fall just above her shoulders, but her eyes and the gentleness of her face remained unchanged. It was a youthful expression that held within it a maturity far beyond the years that showed physically.

"Is what weird?"

"Well….Mother is your daughter."

"Yes..she is…"

"But it's like Faith being my aunt….people think we are sisters."

Gabrielle smiled. "Ummm… that is a little strange isn't it? Crazy things happen in our lives sometimes, Grace. Your grandmother and I were gone for a long time… you know… long before you were even a thought…."

"Because of the ice and Ares…."

The bard chuckled, "Yes…"

Grace considered that story in her head. "Do you wish you were never gone?"

The bard smiled and continued to stroke the young girl's hair. "Well.. once I thought so…but if we hadn't been gone… we wouldn't be here…we wouldn't have Gabriel….or you….or Faith." Gabrielle took a deep breath and sighed. "Grace…I remember when your mother told us she was pregnant with you."

"You do?"

"Yes…I do," Gabrielle smiled. "She was so happy. You know…your father and mother always wanted to have a big family….but your mother, well….she had a tough time with your brother….she got very sick."

"I know…but then she got a miracle."

Gabrielle laughed. "We all did."

"You did?" Grace was curious.

"We did. Your mother was blessed by a very special sacrifice and she got you….and your grandmother and I….well…my best friend gave herself to us and we had Faith." The girl looked at her grandmother in confusion. "I know…it sounds strange, doesn't it? Well, Grace...those who love always go on. Love can never die…it has to go somewhere….and you and Faith – you are proof of that. I think maybe it's time that you understand that a bit more."

"Is that why you are always worried about us?"

The woman laughed. "Oh, Grace….we worry about you because we love you. And, because if anyone knows about adventure and all that it offers; god and bad; it is your grandmother and me. Your mother will tell you that. I swear… you and Faith are more adventure than either of us ever imagined," she laughed harder.

"Is that bad?" Grace asked wondering if now was the time for the lecture.

"No…it's wonderful, my love….it started the day your mother told us she was carrying you. After that, everything changed."

"Will you tell me?"

"Ummm…I remember that day all too well….."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – Recalling

Gabrielle was in the kitchen explaining to her new helper what needed to be done in order to prepare for the evening guests at the tavern. Adriana was a lovely young woman and eager to please the bard. Gabrielle appreciated her spirit and enjoyed her company but she missed Adera. Adera had been a good friend and a confidante for many years at a time when the bard needed it most. Now, she had Xena back and that filled her beyond what any words could hope to express. Both knew now that Eve was their daughter, and the knowledge that each had of their family was precious to them all. Still, even in the greatest happiness a touch of sadness seems to creep. The bard had also lost three of the closest friends she had ever known; three people who had helped to carry her through her grief and even bring her joy. Adera was gone and that made days in the tavern seem strange. And, Virgil and Aphrodite were gone now as well. Life; as always was a delicate balance. She finished giving her instructions and wiped her hands on a towel as Adriana headed off.

"Mother?" A voice called from the back door of the kitchen.

"Eve?" Eve was standing in the doorway and looking at the bard with an expression Gabrielle found difficult to discern. "What's wrong?" Eve just shook her head. "Where's Gabriel?"

"Mother took him to the river," she said quietly.

Gabrielle bridged the distance between them and placed her hands gently on her daughter's shoulders. "Do you want to go take a walk?" Eve nodded silently. "All right, let me just let Adriana know…this will be a good test for her," she smiled.

The two women walked in virtual silence until they reached the spot that Gabrielle knew Eve loved. It sat not far off the road in the middle of a clearing. There was one large tree with sweeping branches that gave shade from the summer sun. "I'm sorry I pulled you away," the messenger said.

"Don't be. I could use the break. Besides…something is on your mind…I can tell."

Eve nodded again. "I haven't told anyone."

"Haven't told anyone what, Eve?" Gabrielle asked. The messenger looked to the woman before her and a tear fell down her cheek. "What is it?" The bard was growing more concerned. She knew that Eve was missing Virgil and she completely understood.

"I can hardly believe it, but I know it's true…I've known for a while…I just can't believe it's now… I mean…"

"Eve…."

"Mother…I'm pregnant."

Gabrielle was surprised. She tried to hide it but she was certain the shock was evident on her face. "Are you sure?" Eve nodded again. "Eve…that's wonderful." Gabrielle smiled. "Isn't it?"

"It is…but why now…when he's gone…"

The bard took a deep breath as her daughter's tears began to fall more freely. She pulled Eve to her and spoke as softly as she could. "Maybe that is precisely why it IS now, Eve."

"I know…It was Eshmun…I felt it, you know…that day. It was like a warmth that traveled through my body; healing me."

"Virgil would have been thrilled," Gabrielle offered as she gently stroked her daughter's hair. "You haven't told your mother yet?"

"I just did," Eve laughed. Things were still new to them all and Eve enjoyed giving Gabrielle a hard time when the opportunity arose.

"MMM…you know what I mean."

"No…I wanted to tell you first."

Somehow Gabrielle understood. The two had grown close over the years and it was Gabrielle who had cared for Eve during much of her pregnancy with Gabriel and afterward. "Eve…I'm sure it will be different this time."

"It will…I know…I can feel it. We tried… you know….in the Amazon Village, before he left." Gabrielle listened intently; continuing to support the woman leaning against her. "After Eli came to you and Mother…I just thought maybe….if that could happen…"

"Well, you were right, weren't you?" Gabrielle finally said.

"What do you think?" Eve asked almost in a whisper.

"I think I am awfully young for all these grandchildren," Gabrielle laughed. She pushed the messenger away slightly and took the beautiful face in her hands. "You are worried about me."

"No….but I know…"

"Eve…I have a daughter….you. I am thrilled for you…and for me. You are so much like your mother, honestly," she kissed the woman's forehead. "Looks like it's going to get even crazier around here pretty soon," Gabrielle laughed.

"Yeah. Will you tell Mother?"

The bard squinted at the question. "Don't you want to tell her?"

"No…I know it sounds strange but I feel like she will be sad."

"She won't be sad, Eve. Not at all. Believe me. I think you should tell her." Eve nodded. "Why don't you tell both Gabriel and your mother at dinner?" The messenger nodded again. "Stop worrying so much. Gods know you get that from her….always worrying." Eve laughed at the bard's playful observation knowing it was meant as reassurance.

"I love you," Eve said beginning to cry again partly from happiness and partly from all the raw emotion that filled her now.

"Oh, Eve…I love you too. More than you even know."

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Gabriel spent most of dinner talking about his day at the river with his grandmother. They had gone looking for rabbits in the morning and then spent the afternoon fishing and playing in the water. He seemed to remember every detail and just like his Auntie Gabrielle he was armed with a story about everything. Xena finally chimed in. "Yeah… well we could use a few more pairs of hands around this place… the way you and your auntie eat."

"Funny," the bard pursed her lips. She looked to Eve seeing the comment as an opportunity and raised an eyebrow. The warrior caught the exchange and set down the piece of meat she was holding to focus on her daughter.

"Actually," Eve began rather quietly and still looking at her plate. "You might get what you wish for."

Xena looked at Gabrielle who covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her growing grin. "What do you mean?" Xena asked.

"Well," Eve looked at Gabrielle who nodded her encouragement. "It seems like Gabriel will be having a little brother or sister in a couple of seasons."

At first Xena seemed lost until Gabrielle caught her glance and opened her eyes a little wider to convey the message. "Eve… you're pregnant?" Eve nodded. "Virgil?"

Gabrielle could no longer contain her laughter as their daughter answered strongly, "Of course, Virgil, Mother!"

Gabriel looked up to his auntie who was laughing so hard tears were beginning to fall from her eyes. "Auntie?"

"Oh… Gabriel…I am sorry…your grandmother makes me laugh sometimes." She pulled him over and onto her lap. "You are going to be a big brother."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are."

"Am I going to have a brother or a sister?"

Gabrielle smiled and kissed the boy's head. "I don't know, Gabriel. You'll have to wait to find that out… it's sort of like getting a birthday present…only on someone else's birthday," she explained. He smiled.

"Eve… that's great," Xena said. "I know Virgil would have been excited." Xena recalled a brief conversation she and her son in law had about children when she had first returned.

"He would have been," Eve agreed.

"When can I teach him to fish?" Gabriel asked excitedly; soliciting a laugh from all three women at his innocence.

"How do you know it will be a 'he'?" Gabrielle asked. He shrugged.

"Gabriel… the baby won't be here for a while…and then…just like you…he or she will need to grow a bit before you start heading to the river," Eve smiled. He wrinkled his nose slightly and then shrugged again.

"Will he look like me?" He asked.

Eve shook her head, "why are you so convinced it's going to be a 'he'?"

"I dunno… 'cause I am, I guess."

"Well," Gabrielle answered. "If he or she is very lucky they will look like you." He smiled proudly at the compliment. "All right then, help this old grandmother clean up, will you?" She took his hand. Xena smiled across to her lover. Gabrielle amazed her. She loved to watch he bard with their grandson and she was certain that the bard was already making plans for this new addition. And, Xena thought; finally they would be able to see a child raised together. Gabrielle's eyes met the warrior's and she winked. "I am too YOUNG for this," she joked. "Come on, Gabriel."

"Too young for what, Auntie?" He asked following her into the kitchen.

"Too young and too old at the same time, Gabriel," she laughed. "Someday you will understand."

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Xena walked into the small house that she and the bard now shared. It was funny; this life Gabrielle had created in the warrior's absence. It was an interesting blend of work, adventure and home. There was still much work to be done to repair the damage to Amphipolis from Lucifer's brief visit and as always, there were the run of the mill bandits and thieves that had to be dealt with. They had just returned from a few days in the Amazon Village checking in with Varia and visiting Lysandra. The past weeks had been long. There was cleaning and building to do, meetings to hold and then there was the adjustment they each had to make to this new life. There was still a great deal of healing needed and time; Xena hoped; would be more kind to them now. Things were different. There would be battles but they would be chosen carefully and the road was no longer their home. The warrior had not had a "home" since she was almost a child. Her home had been the road and her home had been Gabrielle. In her absence the bard had managed to cultivate a unique balance to life that the warrior admired. Now, they each had to figure out their roles. Eve's announcement that she was expecting was yet another turn that no one could have anticipated.

The warrior made her way into the small kitchen area where Gabrielle had a pot over the fire. The bard turned quickly to face the warrior and became unsteady. Xena flew to her side and caught her in the forward motion. "You all right?" Gabrielle covered her eyes and leaned on the warrior. "Maybe you need some rest," Xena suggested.

Gabrielle leaned into the warrior's chest. "I guess I'm just tired… I just feel dizzy...I'm sorry… I…"

"Come on," Xena led the bard to the other room and the bed they shared. "Just rest for a while." The warrior checked the bard for a fever. "Did you eat today?"

"I tried."

"You tried? Gabrielle, you need to eat."

"I can't," the bard rolled to her side. "I just look at food and I feel like…"

Xena sighed. "I think you might be getting sick."

"Ugh… I don't have time to be sick," the bard groaned.

"You don't have a fever. Did you eat anything that…."

"No…I can't eat, Xena… this morning I tried and I spent an hour throwing up."

The warrior sighed. "I'm going to go make you some tea for the nausea, okay? Maybe if you can just get something down it will help. You've been moving nonstop, Gabrielle… You have to take care of yourself." Gabrielle nodded and pulled the blanket up over her.

When Xena returned Gabrielle was sleeping. The warrior decided that might be best and went outside to take care of chopping some wood and sharpening her sword.

"Hey," Eve's voice called. The warrior smiled half-heartedly. "What's wrong?" Her daughter asked keeping one eye on Gabriel as her set off to climb a small tree.

"Gabrielle…. She's not eating – she almost fainted earlier."

"Where is she now?" Eve asked.

"Sleeping."

"Maybe she's just over tired, Mother. She's worse than you, you know. She doesn't stop….ever."

"I know…that's what worries me."

"Do you think she's sick?" Eve was concerned.

"No… there's no fever."

"Well, let her rest, Mother. I'm sure she'll be fine tomorrow."

Xena smiled and nodded. "What about you?" The warrior raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly….very well. Nothing like it was with Gabriel. God, I was so sick in the beginning. Virgil brought me here…thank God for Gabrielle."

Xena smiled. "That bad?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry," Xena offered but with a smile.

"Were you sick with me?" Eve asked.

"For a few weeks, yes… so I understand the thank God for Gabrielle very well," she winked.

Eve chuckled. "I swear I don't know what I would have done without her. I would just go to stand up and I would tip over," she laughed.

"Is that what…"

Eve shook her head. "Well… that was terrible… but no…Gabriel was turned….Gabrielle managed to turn him…but it was a very long and taxing labor and I was so run down. I just got sick. After…well, we never could conceive again….until…"

Xena ran the stone over her blade in thought. "So you think it was Eshmun?"

"No… I'm sure it was. Explains why I am able to carry…and why I'm not sick at all….she said she was sorry for all that I had lost right before they disappeared. I felt it…the healing…but I didn't know…"

The warrior smiled. "I am happy for you, Eve."

The messenger looked at her mother. "I'm sure Gabrielle is all right, Mother."

"I know…it's just I have to go to Potidaea tomorrow…."

"It's fine," Eve reassured. "I'm here."

"Yes, but if Gabrielle is sick… you should not be around her… and you know she will never allow that."

"Honestly, Mother… I don't think there is anything to worry about with me. It may sound strange but I know – I am safe… just go. Gabriel and I will come by in the morning. It's only for a couple of days. Go."

Xena smiled gratefully. "Are you sure…I can…"

Eve stood and motioned to Gabriel. "Positive. Let's go Gabriel… I'll see you in the morning, Mother."  
Xena smiled and nodded her appreciation.

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When Eve arrived at the house Gabrielle was already up and she had made tea and set out some bread. "Are you feeling better?" Eve asked.

Gabrielle smiled. "I'm fine, Eve. I think I'm just a bit run down." Xena watched the scene closely and looked at Eve. The bard caught her glance. "Will you stop worrying? Xena...I am fine… honestly," Gabrielle put her arms around the warrior's waist. "Go on…I promise I will still be here in one piece when you get back." She looked into the warrior's eyes and Xena sighed.

"I'd feel better if you ate," Xena said plainly.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and grabbed a piece of bread; taking a decent sized bite and swallowing with a smile. "See…I'm just tired. Go."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" The warrior asked playfully.

"Never," the bard answered kissing the warrior softly.

Xena let out a sigh and stroked Gabrielle's cheek. "I don't like leaving you…."

"Well…just make sure you come back as soon as you can – the same as you left, please," Gabrielle joked.

Xena smiled and looked over to their daughter. "Make her behave," she said receiving a light slap from her lover.

"Yeah…" Eve answered sarcastically.

"All right, you two… that's enough." Gabrielle scooted the warrior to the door and glanced over at their daughter. She pulled Xena down and kissed her. "I love you, Xena…..now go on," she urged. The warrior reluctantly mounted Sappho and smiled back. She went to say something and Gabrielle interrupted. "Xena.. go…I'm not sick… I have plenty of help here anyway…the sooner you go…the sooner you'll be back." The warrior smiled and nodded and then she was gone.

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"Ugh…." Gabrielle hunched over the small bush and groaned. "I am never eating again."

"What's going on?" A voice asked.

"Nothing," Gabrielle answered straightening herself as best she could.

"You're getting sick, aren't you?" Eve asked.

"I'm all right, Eve." Eve stared at her mother in disbelief. "Eve….honestly."

"Okay," Eve said.

"Good," Gabrielle answered. "I swear you and your Mother will be the death of me with all your worry," she laughed. The bard started back toward the tavern when she felt the earth begin to spin and stopped to grab a tall barrel.

"Yeah.. You're fine," Eve shook her head. "Back to the house."

"Eve…I need to go…"

"No…you are going back to the house. Right now. Mother will kill me if you really get sick." Gabrielle sighed but complied. "Gabriel," Eve called her son to them. "Go down and tell Adriana I will be there in a bit to help. Gabrielle is staying HOME today."

"Are you sick?" He asked with worry.

"No, my love…just a little tired," she smiled. He accepted her answer and scurried off.

Eve pulled a blanket around her younger mother's shoulders and handed her a cup of tea. She stepped back and watched Gabrielle sip on the mug closely; studying her. Gabrielle heard her daughter mumble something as she sat in the chair across the room. "What?" The bard asked.

"How long have you been feeling like this?"

"I don't know… a few days."

Eve raised an eyebrow. "A few days that you can't eat…or a few days you feel nauseous?"

"I don't know Eve… I guess a couple of weeks on and off…why?...You know how crazy it's been. Gods, I don't remember when I really slept." The messenger unconsciously began rubbing her lips with her finger, deep in thought. "What? Eve…I'm fine…"

Eve stood up and walked to the bed. She sat down beside the bard and looked at her directly. "Yes, I think you ARE fine."

Gabrielle was puzzled. "Oookaay… so then why are you looking at me that way?"

A heavy sigh came from the messenger. "Because I know you."

"What does that mean?' Gabrielle asked with some impatience.

"It means what I said…you're not going to believe me when I tell you this."

"Tell me what?" Gabrielle asked.

Eve took the tea from the bard's hand and set it aside on a nearby table before resuming her position on the bed next to the bard. "Mother," she began; trying to be serious and not smile.

"What? Eve? What is it already?"

"I think… you are going to be a mother," Eve raised an eyebrow and pressed her lips firmly together.

"Okay… you have lost your mind," Gabrielle laughed. "What in heaven would possess you to think THAT?" Eve just looked at her mother. "Eve…in case you haven't noticed…Ummm… I don't think your mother is capable…"

Eve shook her head. "I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Because that is not possible."

"Yeah… neither was I."

"That is totally different."

"Is it?"

Gabrielle was becoming exasperated and she was still feeling woozy. "I love you… but I am not pregnant."

"Yes… you are," Eve laughed.

"No…"

"Yeah… and you know it too."

"Eve…"

Eve shook her head. "It makes sense. I don't know why I didn't even think about it earlier."

"What makes sense?"

"Mother….what did Aphrodite say to you that day…before the lights came and they disappeared?"

Gabrielle was confused by her daughter's questioning. "I don't know… why?"

"Just try and remember," Eve encouraged.

The bard closed her eyes and tried to recall Aphrodite in front of her. She took a deep breath as the memory began to replay. She saw her best friend standing before her; gently but firmly holding her close. "You deserve all that love can provide, my friend. I will always be with you…That's what she said," Gabrielle nearly whispered opening her eyes with tears falling. Eve took her mother's hand and looked deeply into her eyes. They stayed locked that way for long minutes. Gabrielle struggling to take a breath.

"Congratulations," Eve smiled.

"Oh my God…Eve…."

"Yeah…"

"Your mother is going to freak."

Eve laughed. "Just don't blurt it out in a stable and she'll be fine," Eve winked.

Gabrielle's hands were now covering her mouth in utter disbelief. "Eve… how did you know?"

"Oh… I don't know. I could see it in your eyes almost. Strange. It makes sense. In its own way. Aphrodite would have done anything for you and so would Eli."

Tears silently fell down the bards cheeks. "I don't know how I am going to tell Xena."

Eve smiled. "Oh….I wouldn't worry. Once she gets over the initial shock she'll be in the clouds."

"I don't know about that, Eve," Gabrielle's voice was full of genuine apprehension.

"I do," her daughter assured. "Now who's worrying?"

Gabrielle laughed. "It's so strange."

"No…it isn't," Eve said taking her mother's hand. "I can't wait to meet my sister or brother," she smiled. Gabrielle was overwhelmed.

"Eve?"

The messenger smiled. "Gabriel and I will stay with you tonight."

"Thank you."

"Thank you," the messenger said.

"For what?"

"I don't know – being my mother," Eve shrugged.

Gabrielle laughed. "Some family."

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"How's she doing?" Xena asked Eve as she headed toward the house.

"She's fine, Mother."

"Eating?"

"She's all right," Eve replied.

"Eve…what aren't you telling me?" Xena asked sternly. Eve shook her head but could not contain her smirk. "Okay… she's not sick then…So what is going on? Did something happen?" Eve shrugged and kept smiling gesturing to Gabriel to head toward the tavern. "What are you up to? Eve? What's going on with Gabrielle?"

Eve giggled. "You have to ask her," she touched her mother's hand before starting to head off. "Oh…you might not want to be holding anything when she tells you." She ducked out laughing.

Xena stood watching her daughter head off with her grandson; puzzled. Something was amusing to Eve which meant Gabrielle wasn't sick. Whatever it was it couldn't be a bad thing. "Don't hold anything," she muttered as she headed for the door. "What in Tartarus is that supposed to mean?" The warrior unhitched her armor and hung it on a hook inside the door. She stretched her neck and turned around to find the bard walking toward her. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Gabrielle smiled silently and continued toward the warrior. She stroked Xena's cheek and looked into her eyes. A few days had given the bard the time to process her new reality. And a visit from Michael helped to clarify what she already knew in her heart. Now she had to tell the woman she loved the news. It was impossible news. It was miraculous news. Part of her had been on pins and needles the last two days since Michael confirmed things, wanting to tell Xena and another part of her was terrified. "I love you," the bard whispered.

"I love you too," Xena answered and looked at the bard with questioning eyes.

"Come with me," Gabrielle led the warrior to the furs she had placed before the fireplace in the large room that they shared.

"Gabrielle, what is going on? Eve is acting so strange…and…"

The bard pressed two fingers to the warrior's lips and got her seated. "We need to talk."

"Okay…Gabrielle you are scaring me right now."

Gabrielle smiled and sighed. "Xena, if we could have anything… I mean anything at all right now… if you could wish for one thing what would it be?"

The warrior closed her eyes. Gabrielle surely knew the answer. Xena would give her life for Gabrielle to have a child. That would be the only thing she would wish for now. "I think you know that answer."

Gabrielle smiled. "Maybe I do, but tell me."

"Why? I can't give you that… we both…"

"Xena…please… just tell me. I need to hear you say it."

Xena took in a breath and released it. "Gabrielle, you know I would give anything for you to be able have a child. Everything that was taken from you...Hope… Eve… me…You deserve that chance… I would let you go in a second if you told me that you wanted that." The truth ripped the warrior's heart. She loved Gabrielle more than her own life. There was nothing she wouldn't give her and only one thing she couldn't. Discovering that Eve belonged to them both had helped to heal so much but Xena always wondered why it wasn't the bard who was given that opportunity; to give birth to their child.

Gabrielle's smile radiated brighter than the fire. "You would let me go?" Gabrielle asked gently.

"If it would make you happier, yes."

Gabrielle kissed her lover. "I would never want you to let me go, Xena."

"I know," the warrior said quietly with some sadness.

"Xena," the warrior looked into green eyes that sparkled in the firelight. "You have given me everything I ever wanted…and more."

"Not that," Xena said.

"Yes, even that."

"Well, yes…I know Eve…but I know you have always wanted to…"

Xena felt a tender caress lift her cheek. "You're not listening to me," Gabrielle held the warrior's gaze as Xena searched the bard for her meaning. "Even that, Xena…I'm not sick…."

"Gabrielle…I don't understand what…." Gabrielle raised an eyebrow. The warrior's heart stopped "You're trying to tell me you're….but that's …. How is that…."

Gabrielle giggled. "See, not so easy to digest, is it? Imagine hearing that blurted out in a stable." Xena was stunned into silence; staring at the bard. "Xena?"

"I…."

Gabrielle sighed. "It was Aphrodite… that day…the same day Eshmun healed Eve. But Eve was already with child….Eshmun's essence was healing and now," she stopped and looked at Xena as reality began to pour into the warrior. "Eli…when it was Aphrodite's time… well, we go around to each other, Xena…we both know that. She will be part of us…both of us, forever now."

Xena looked up and Gabrielle wiped a tear from the warrior's cheek with her thumb. "Are you sure," Xena asked. Gabrielle nodded. "Are you all right… did Michael…"

"Shhhhh," Gabrielle kissed Xena. "I'm fine. Just some nausea….it will pass."

"Gabrielle…I…." Xena could find no words. There were no words now. None. She felt as if she had been reborn; again. All the anger she felt for all the losses seemed to be lifting off of her in waves. Two children? They would have two children? This was not redemption it was salvation. It was everything.

"You don't have to say anything, Xena… I know exactly how you feel."

"I love you, Gabrielle," Xena said as the bard laid across her lap.

"I love you too, Xena."

They stayed in the moment for what seemed to be hours when Xena finally let out a chuckle. "What are you thinking?" Gabrielle asked as she lightly stroked the hand holding her.

"I'm thinking I'd better teach Gabriel to catch bigger fish… when your appetite comes back we are in trouble."

"Funny, Xena," Gabrielle smiled.

"I know."

"MMM…. You'll be doing a lot more than fishing."

"What does that mean?"

"Oh… since it's my turn to feed… I guess it's your turn to change," Gabrielle poked.

"Mmm… keep it up, Mom…."

Gabrielle laughed. "Xena?"

"Yeah?"

"Do not teach these children to throw fish."

"Uh huh," was Xena's reply.

"Xena…" Gabrielle playfully cautioned.

"I love you, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle sighed. "I know."


	3. Chapter 3

"So then… I am a GODDESS!" Faith said with delight.

"No," Xena said firmly.

"Yeah… but you just said that Aphrodite is me…"

"That's not what I said."

"Did too," Faith insisted.

Xena sighed and shook her head. "Do you know why your name is Faith?"

"Yeah… 'cause Eve is the messenger and Mother loves that name…Gabriel was the seed of 'Faith'."

"Ummm… well… close… in a way…Aphrodite – in your case was the seed of Faith."

"Yeah… a GODDESS."

"You are not a goddess. Eli help you – you are part of me and part of your mother, just like your sister."

"Yeah but Aphrodite…" Xena sighed again and rolled her eyes. Sometimes Faith truly reminded her of a young Gabrielle. She was wide eyed and got excited about everything and she was impossible to reason with at times. "You're wishing Mother was here, aren't you?" Faith laughed.

"No, actually…I'm thinking how much you remind me of her."

"Yeah… 'cause I look like her, huh?... Do I look like Aphrodite?"

"Yes… I mean - NO!" Xena shook her head. "Faith….listen to me…just like Eshmun helped to make Grace, Aphrodite helped to make you…. Her spirit… her essence…we all go round and round so we have to be reborn.. but we are also part of those that love us most…our parents. Your mother always wanted to have a baby… and Aphrodite and Eli were two of her best friends – they both knew that was in her heart….when it was time for Aphrodite to leave…well…they gave her the chance to have you… and have you be a part of us…so you are not a goddess."

Faith's nose crinkled. "She didn't have any power anyway."

"Oh?"

"Yeah.. not like Artemis or Athena…they were cool."

"Cool?"

"Yeah," Faith said. "They fought – had armies… led AMAZONS!"

"MMM… tried to kill your sister…almost killed your mother and me…and do you know who saved your mother and your sister?"

"Yeah, Ares…"

Xena nodded. "Yes… after Aphrodite went against all her siblings to bring us to Mt. Olympus….Aphrodite saved your sister and your mother… and she was there for us more than once….she loved your mother very much…so much she risked everything she knew….and so much that she chose your mother to be her mother…in a way…so she **_is _**in you… part of you that helps you to love."

"So why not call me LOVEY?" Faith joked.

The warrior laughed. "Faith…."

"What?"

"Can you be serious for just a minute?" Xena asked.

"Sorry…"

"When I was gone… well… your mother lost her faith… in a lot of things. You are proof that faith, having faith… while it is very hard to do…is worth it. Faith in those we love. That is why we named you Faith."

"**You** wanted to name me Faith?"

"No…I wanted to name you Argo… but your mother wouldn't let me," Xena winked.

Faith laughed. "Am I in trouble?" She asked carefully.

Xena took a deep breath. "No…you're not in trouble… that ankle is enough punishment." Faith started to get a wide grin. "But I want you to think about what you are doing. You think adventure is all fun…it can be…but there are dangers, Faith….neither your mother or I want to prevent you from seeing the world…but we'd like you to LIVE long enough to understand what you are looking at," Xena raised an eyebrow.

Faith nodded. "I'm sorry Mum."

"Mmm… I know… just THINK a little more… please." Xena patted her daughter on the leg.

"Mum?" Xena turned around. 'Mum' was a new thing for Faith. For most of her life she had called both her parents Mother and still did when she wasn't thinking. But she had decided that it was getting too confusing. Eve called both their parents Mother and Faith couldn't keep track of who her sister was talking about half the time so she made the change abruptly one day; announcing to Xena and Gabrielle that they needed different names.

"What is it?"

"Do you like me calling you mum?"

Xena laughed. "Whatever makes you happy, Faith. I'm just curious why the change?"

"Well…it's too hard to know who I am talking about or to… like Eve." Xena was confused. "Ya' know… she talks about you and Mother and says 'Mother' and I don't know who she means half the time…and then she laughs at me because I'm lost."

"I see… that's fine, Faith," Xena chuckled.

"And besides… what if I have a brother or sister someday… like I would confuse…"

"A what?"

"Well… I mean you had Eve and Mother had me… so…"

"I think we are fresh out of angels and goddesses, Faith," Xena laughed. "Your mother and I are perfectly happy with you two," Xena's voice dropped to a whisper, "and plenty busy."

"What?" Faith asked.

The warrior shook her head. "Do you want me to bring you some dinner later or come help you downstairs?"

"It's boring here."

"I'm sure it is… good reason NOT to try and cross the river, huh? We'll see how that feels in a bit."

"Okay."

"STAY off it," Xena warned with a finger as she headed out the door.

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"Grandma?"

"Yes, Grace?" Gabrielle smiled.

"If Eshmun is in me and Aphrodite is in Faith…. Well… does that mean we're not us?"

Gabrielle toyed with her granddaughter's hair. Grace was an intuitive and intelligent girl and Gabrielle loved to listen to her thoughts and questions. "No… it is a little confusing, isn't it?" Grace nodded. "Well, you know someday we all die and we are all reborn and we are all a part of each other….of the people we love… so Eshmun is a part of you – maybe the part that sometimes helps you understand what others are feeling; that was her gift. BUT, your mother and your father – they are also part of you and you are part of them, too. We all belong to each other."

"So… I am part of you and grandmother too? And Grandma Meg and grandfather?"

"That's right," Gabrielle answered.

"Grandma?"

"Yes, Grace."

"Do you love Faith more than Mother?"

"Why would you ask that?" Gabrielle inquired.

"Well, because … Grandmother had Mother and you had Faith…"

Gabrielle nodded. "Do you think your father would have loved you less because he didn't give birth to you?" Grace shrugged. "I see… well… the answer is no. I love your Mother every bit as much as I love Faith… and I love you and Gabriel just as much."

Grace looked up at the kind green eyes of her grandmother. Although she loved to spend time with Xena; fishing and hunting and learning how to track animals and ride horses; when something troubled her that she did not want to ask her mother about; she sought the woman before her now. "How come you cry sometimes when you talk about Mother?"

The bard closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts. "Oh, Grace… your mother and I have traveled a long road together. A road that you and Faith have never had to travel… and I hope you never really do." The small girl was curious but did not understand. "You know," Gabrielle continued, "Your grandmother and I missed a LONG time with your mother."

"Yeah… 'cause of the ice…"

"Gabrielle smiled. "Yes… and we weren't really back that long and then we lost your grandfather…. And then your mother and I lost your grandmother… for so long."

"I know," Grace said softly. "Like my mother lost my father."

Gabrielle kissed the girl's head. "Yes, Grace… just like that. It's hard to explain…but all you need to know is that your mother became more than just my daughter…I have never told anyone this… except now…you."

"Not even Grandmother?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "No, not even your grandmother and not even your mother. Your mother – I remember every moment we had with her… when Xena told me she was pregnant…."

"In a stable," Grace smiled. Her mother often joked about that. It was a story Gabrielle told Eve early on when they were all together again and Eve always found her mother's choice amusing; knowing it annoyed Gabrielle to no end and knowing that her younger mother understood Xena was terrified to tell her. The big warrior was putty when it came to the bard and Eve loved that about her parents.

"Yes… in a stable… as your mother LOVES to remind me," Gabrielle smiled. "But… I do… I remember the first time your grandmother felt her move…the moment she was born. The first time she babbled," Gabrielle's eyes; true to form; were getting misty. "She was so beautiful."

"Did she look like me?"

"Well, I never knew your mother when she was your age… but yes, I'm sure she did, Grace. But you know, when we were all back together… I remember every moment then too… and then when your mother married your father and had your brother… well…. she became more than that little girl… she became my best friend."

"She did? Like Faith and me?"

Gabrielle laughed. "A little bit, yes…you know.. it was your mother who realized I was pregnant with Faith… before I even did."

"REALLY?"

"Uh-huh… and I still remember when she walked into the kitchen the day and she told me she was going to have you…I love your mother, Grace… I loved your father too...and when I look at you I see them both… just like in Gabriel. So maybe I cry a little when I think of your mother… she makes me proud… and she makes me happy….and I can't imagine my life without her."

"Grandma?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think it's bad that I think of Faith as my sister?"

"No, love.. I think that is wonderful."

"Do you think that would make Gabriel mad?"

"No, Grace," Gabrielle laughed. "I think he knows that already… and he loves you both."

"Grandma?"

"What, love?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Grace… let's get back and see how your best friend is doing."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Faith jostled herself around on her bed. "Ugh…this is boring," she winced when her ankle moved.

From the doorway a gentle pair of eyes smiled at her. "What are you doing?" Gabrielle asked.

"Do I have to stay here all day?"

Gabrielle's smile never faded as she made her way to her daughter's bedside. "Well, what is it that you think you _should_ do?" Faith shrugged. She hated being still and she hated being alone. "Hummm. No fun, huh?" Faith shook her head. "Well, it will only be a couple of days."

"Easy for you to say," Faith grumbled.

"I suppose it is," Gabrielle tucked a lose strand of hair behind her daughter's ear.

"Can't I just go over to Eve's?"

Gabrielle narrowed her gaze, "I suppose you could…if you could walk." Faith huffed. "I do understand, Faith." Faith looked up at her mother. "Oh…you don't think so, huh? Well, you know there were more than a few times when either your mother or I were down for the count…and I can think of one time when I sprained my ankle doing something foolish."

Faith looked into green eyes that sparkled whenever they were upon her. She smiled at her mother and settled against her. "What did you do?"

The bard laughed. "I tried to prove that I could flip just as well as your mother."

"Did you?"

"Umm… not exactly."

"But did you ever?" Faith asked curiously.

"Oh yes…but not that day. I was determined I could do it without my staff….and your mother warned me."

Faith's eyes grew wider, "but you didn't listen?" It was hard for the young girl to imagine her mother being disobedient; ever. Gabrielle was kind and gentle and loving. People came to her mother for advice and even the warrior always seemed, to Faith, to defer to the bard. Her parents were in control of everything. At least, in Faith's mind. Eve often chuckled at their parents and Faith would ask why. Her sister would just smile and say, "one day you will understand." The idea of her mother doing something foolish just didn't make sense. She was an Amazon Queen, after all. She was the elder in the village that sat at the head of the table.

Gabrielle saw Faith's expression. "Ummm…I didn't listen… and that wasn't the only time." The bard laughed. "I always wanted to impress her."

"Mum?"

"Yes," Gabrielle smiled.

"But she loves you."

"Yes…she does," Gabrielle said. "But back then – well, things were a little different. She cautioned me and I fell flat…but not before managing to sprain my ankle on the way down."

"Did it hurt?"

"It did… but not as bad as the poison arrow I took later that day," the bard explained.

Faith's eyes flew open. This was not a story she had heard. "Did you get sick?"

"Very…and we were in a lot of trouble with an army approaching. Actually, I thought I was going to die….so did your mother….and she had to fight by herself because I was injured and sick."

"But you didn't die."

"Not then, no."

Faith looked at her mother. "Were you scared?"

Gabrielle looked at the girl and spoke softly. "Mostly I felt guilty…for getting hurt and not being able to help… but yes, I was scared."

"Of dying?"

Gabrielle took a deep breath. "No."

"Then why were you scared?" The girl asked genuinely curious.

"The only thing that scared me, Faith, was the thought of losing your mother." Faith squinted in contemplation. "Ummm… and that is why we get scared when you go off and try and cross a river or take off riding without telling us."

"But I'm okay…you were okay."

"I was okay that time…because we got lucky. Very lucky. We were not always that lucky."

"That's kind of what mum said." Gabrielle smiled. "Mother?"

"Yes, love?"

"Did Mum really want to name me Argo?"

Gabrielle laughed and shook her head. "She told you that, huh?" Faith's eyes became saucers and her mother laughed harder. "You know your mother," she winked.

"But…she used to cross that river with Lyceus."

"I guess she probably did. You are very much like her, you know."

"Not really," Faith said. "I am like you."

The bard shook her head. "I suppose you are, my love. You want very much to impress your mother, for one thing." That was true. Faith wanted to impress both her parents. They were heroes to so many. People came from all over to stay in the inn and hear her mother's stories of the warrior's adventures. Her taller mother went off and fought against warlords and even dealt with Roman troops. She had even, on occasion, seen the mother before her now fight off a bandit or thug. And, whenever they visited Lysandra she saw her mother take the role of a queen and Amazons beg to spar with the warrior. She wanted to be like them. She wanted them to be as proud of her as she was to be with them. "But, you are also like Xena… in so many ways," Gabrielle smiled.

"But you won't let me do the same things," Faith frowned. The bard sighed. "I'm just not as good."

"Not as good as what?" Gabrielle asked and received a shrug. "I see. That's not why, Faith. We just don't want you to get hurt…that's all….and we know sometimes you will. But, we want to keep you safe from all the things we can."

"Eve fought with a sword when she was my age. And she can fight and ride," her voice dropped, "she's better."

Gabrielle felt her heart drop in her chest. Suddenly the question Grace had asked the previous day made more sense. Did Gabrielle love Faith more than Eve? Did Xena perhaps love Eve more than Faith? Best friends shared everything. It was hard sometimes for Faith to understand Eve's past. She saw Eve the strong woman. She never saw Livia, she didn't know the pain of the childhood that was lost; only the woman that child had finally become. "Faith…that's not true…not at all. Eve would be the first person to tell you that."

"But she is like Mum…and I am like you."

"And she is like me and you are like your mother, too. Is that why you wanted to cross that river? To prove to your mother that you could do something she once did?" Faith stayed silent. "Oh, Faith. You don't ever have to prove anything." The young girl wiped a tear from the corner of her eye hoping that her mother wouldn't notice. "Yesterday Grace asked me if I loved you more than I love Eve," Gabrielle began. Faith would not meet her eyes. "Mmm… is that what you think?" The girl shrugged. "You think that your mother loves Eve more and I love you more?" Faith's tears began to flow more freely. Gabrielle smiled and shook her head; pulling the girl closer. "You can be very silly. You know your mother jokes a lot, Faith…but she loves you every bit as much as Eve just as I love Eve every bit as much as I love you."

"Yeah but she didn't even name me."

Gabrielle nodded her head. "Well, no… actually… I did."

"See."

"Well, I didn't name Eve."

"See."

Gabrielle laughed. "Faith, your mother was so excited about you she couldn't sit still for almost the whole time I was pregnant." The girl looked up at her mother. "Oh? You don't believe me?" Faith gave her usual shrug. Gabrielle continued almost as if speaking to herself. "I wasn't sure I would even GET to hold you when you were born," Gabrielle smiled at the memory. "Thank God you were hungry a lot," the bard laughed.

"Why? What did she do?" Gabrielle smiled. It was a time in her life that she would always treasure and now it was time to share that with her daughter.

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"Mother?"

"Yes, Grace?" Eve responded as she jotted down some notes on a scroll.

"Ummm…do you think it's weird that Grandma is your mother?"

"No."

Grace watched her mother as she rolled up the scroll. She loved to watch Eve's hands. Everything about Eve fascinated the girl. Her mother was smart and she was funny. She was kind and she was beautiful. She could write and she could ride. She could fight and fish. She could be quiet or she could be silly. Grace thought she was perfect. Grace and Faith spent hours with Eve and sometimes Faith would get angry at her sister. 'Sisters aren't supposed to boss you around,' she would gripe. The difference in their ages meant that Eve was often charged with both Faith and Grace's care. Faith rarely cried in front of Grace, but recently after an afternoon with the messenger and Gabriel, Faith had gotten very upset down by the river. She was skipping rocks across the water and muttering when Grace noticed that she was crying.

It was hard for Grace, too. Eve was her mother and Faith was like her sister. She wanted Faith to be her sister sometimes. It just seemed to make sense. But her mother was Faith's sister and Faith wanted Eve to be her best friend. When Faith told Grace that she thought Eve didn't really want to be her sister and that Grace was more like her sister; Faith had cried. Then she confided to Grace that maybe Xena loved Eve more and Gabrielle loved Faith more; after all that would make sense. That would explain why Eve didn't want to be her best friend too. Grace sat on the floor running her fingers over the fur she was sitting on and staring between her legs thinking about that day just a few days ago. Then, Faith had decided they should make a plan and find a place to cross the river. Now, her best friend was hurt and they were spending the day apart for the first time in many moons.

Eve put the scroll away in a bag and watched her daughter mindlessly playing with the fur beneath her. Grace was an introspective child but there was something else going on now. The messenger was certain she saw tears in her daughter's eyes. "Grace," she called gently as she made her way to take a seat beside the girl on the floor. "What's wrong? Are you upset about yesterday?" Grace shook her head 'no'. "Well, something is bothering you…I can tell…" The girl looked at her mother and Eve wiped a tear from the small cheek with a reassuring smile. "Why did you ask about me and Grandma?"

Grace sighed. "Well… Faith is my best friend." Eve smiled. "But she is really my aunt…..and Grandma said you are her best friend but she is really your mother."

"She said that?" Grace nodded. Eve smiled broadly at her mother's sentiment. "Well, I guess she is, Grace. Why can't they be both?"

"But…"

"You know… you can have more than one best friend… best friends come in different ways – Aphrodite was your Grandma's best friend in a different way than me…and your grandmother is also Grandma's best friend… so we can be more than one thing to a person."

"So," Grace paused before continuing nervously, "then why can't Faith be your best friend?"

Eve was confused. "What do you mean?"

"How come you don't want to be Faith's best friend?"

Eve sighed. "Why would you say that, Grace? Faith is my little sister…she will always be my best friend." Grace shook her head. "Did something happen that I should know?" Grace was normally forthcoming with information but she didn't want to betray Faith and she shrugged. "Listen…if something upset you or Faith….I would like to know."

The small girl looked up into her mother's blue eyes. "Faith thinks you don't want to be her best friend." The messenger was stunned. Faith was as much a light in her life as either of her children and she adored her sister. She scratched her head and took a deep breath. A lot of things were beginning to sense. She remembered being ten. She was in Rome and lonely. She remembered when she was finally with her parents again; a grown woman who felt like a little girl. They were barely older than she was and yet they were hers. The pieces were coming together. The girls were getting older and more independent and Eve was more like another parent than a sibling to Faith. She sighed heavily and felt a tear fall down her cheek. "Why are you crying, Mother?"

"What did Faith say?" Eve asked gently. Grace was cautious. "It's okay…I wish you would tell me."

"Well…Grandmother is your mother and Grandma is her mother…so maybe that's why you don't want to be her best friend…because you know.., you're not really sisters."

Eve shook her head. "Is that what she said?" Grace nodded a bit sadly. Eve understood immediately. It was hard in this family sometimes, and ten was not an easy age. The girls were old enough to start asking questions and wanting to be more independent but still too young to really understand everything or be able to be left without guidance. Eve and her parents knew these questions would come. They had all confronted them in their own way, and they were adults. "What do you think?" Eve asked her daughter with a said smile.

"I dunno. Gabriel is my brother."

"Yes, he is."

"He's my best friend sometimes."

Eve smiled. "I know."

"But…I don't know…Faith is really – well she's like…"

"She's like your sister," Eve finished the thought for her daughter. Grace looked away and nodded. "And you think that would upset me?" Her daughter shrugged. Eve chuckled now. "Never. You know, Grace…it is strange sometimes…people think Gabrielle is my sister or my friend. And in some ways she is…but she is my mother every bit as much as your grandmother is. I love her the same way and she loves me the same way too."

"I know…she told me."

"She did?"

"Yeah… it's why she cries when she tells stories about you?"

Eve looked at her daughter in surprise. "She doesn't cry…"

"Yes, she does. I asked her. She said it's because she loves you so much and because she would never want to be without you."

The messenger nodded. "Grace…I don't know what to say… I love Faith very much. I will make sure that she knows that….. You know it was the most wonderful thing for me to have you and Grandma to have Faith at the same time."

"It was?"

"Yes… because we knew you would have each other. And we had each other. Although your grandmother drove us both crazy."

"How come?"

Eve laughed. "Well, your grandmother can be a little… protective. She was excited…maybe a little too excited sometimes."

"Grandmother is silly," Grace smiled. She adored Xena.

"You have no idea." Grace looked at her mother hopefully. "Okay… but you cannot tell your grandmother I told you this."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Xena…Xena… stop already," Gabrielle sighed.

The warrior looked up from the pile of logs and shook her head. "Gabrielle…we need to have enough wood…"

"Xena…there will still be trees in the forest even when it gets colder."

"Yeah… well… maybe, but I don't want to be in the forest with you here alone."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "I won't be alone," she laughed.

"Uh huh…. Yeah you'll have our baby…"

"And Eve…" Gabrielle continued the thought.

The warrior interrupted, "And another baby and Gabriel. Why are you arguing with me?"

The bard smiled and sat down on the large flat stump that Xena was using as a chopping block. "I'm not arguing with you. I am worried about you."

"Why? I'm not the one who's pregnant."

"Yes, I know that," Gabrielle raised an eyebrow. She was showing now and the baby was becoming more active by the day. "I believe your child is practicing flips and kicks right now." Xena's face lit up. There was nothing she enjoyed more these days than feeling the baby move. Eve had caught her talking to Gabrielle's stomach one morning when they didn't know she had entered the room, and she had teased her mother endlessly since. The warrior walked the two necessary paces and put her hand on the bard's stomach. Gabrielle smiled. It was the happiest she had ever been. They were all together; these people she loved; and every day that passed she became more and more anxious to meet the little person growing inside of her. At the same time, watching Xena was a source of both endless amusement and sometimes incredible frustration. But, no matter which sentiment ruled the moment, the bard was touched by her warrior's excitement and worry. They had missed so much with Eve; with each other. Xena was more determined than ever that they would not miss anything ever again.

"Been like this all day?" Xena smiled as she felt the baby move about.

"Mmm… yeah… actually…endless energy already," Gabrielle looked down and smiled.

"All the more reason I need to be here," Xena said softly.

"Just slow down," Gabrielle put her hand over the warrior's. "The wood will be there tomorrow." Lately Xena would set her sights on a task and then focus on it so closely that she wore herself to exhaustion. That included adding onto the small house, building cribs with Gabriel for both the babies, hiring more staff for the tavern and working with the council to increase the town's defenses. Gabrielle suspected some of it was restlessness. The warrior was used to the road; and as much as Gabrielle knew that they had both resigned themselves to a life in Amphipolis; that was an adjustment that would be most difficult for the warrior.

Xena groaned slightly in protest to the idea of slowing down and was met with another raise of the eyebrow from Gabrielle. "You're restless," Gabrielle said gently.

"No…"

"Yes, you are," the bard smiled. Xena shook her head. "I think we should go see Lysandra for a couple of days," Gabrielle suggested.

"What?" the warrior asked with some energy. "Now?"

"Xena. Seriously… you dragged me to Chin and half way across Greece when you were pregnant with Eve. For heaven's sake… a two day ride is not an issue for me."

"Why can't we just have Lysandra come here?"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "I love you, Xena… but you are driving me crazy. I am not an invalid. I feel great and the baby is fine…feel that?" Xena pursed her lips. "This will be the last chance I have to get there for a while with everything here and … well," Gabrielle winked.

Xena released a heavy sigh and smiled. "I can't help it."

The bard chuckled. "I know. But, Xena… you've had two children and delivered countless others. I am fine. Why are you so worried?"

The warrior shrugged. "It's you."

"What do you mean, it's me?" Gabrielle asked.

"It's you…not me – not someone else…it's you," Xena said quietly.

"Uh huh…I know… and I love you. You don't think I felt that way when you were carrying Eve?"

Xena looked down. Gabrielle had been extremely frustrated with Xena's insistence on traipsing around when she was pregnant with Eve and the bard worried constantly for both the warrior and the baby. Then, she had not allowed herself to consider that Eve was a part of them both and she deferred to Xena. This was different and both understood that. "I'm sorry," Xena said.

"Don't be sorry," Gabrielle stroked the warrior's cheek.

"When do you want to go?"

Gabrielle smiled. "Let's leave tomorrow afternoon. We can camp in the evening at the lake," she winked.

Xena shook her head. "At the lake, huh?"

"Mmm…interested?"

Xena helped the bard to her feet. "Camping… with you? Gee…I don't know Gabrielle…"

Gabrielle slapped the warrior's hand. "Finish up out here and we'll talk about it all over dinner."

Xena nodded and watched the bard go back inside. She returned to her pile and started stacking the firewood she had chopped for the coming season. Her mind was running so fast. It was almost impossible for her to fathom, but it seemed every day she fell more deeply in love with Gabrielle. She **_was _**restless but she couldn't tell the bard why. It was not a need to wander that gripped the warrior these days; it was a need to make up for the past. To keep this family safe. Death and absence had changed Xena in very meaningful ways. She worried that Gabrielle might not know how to react to a warrior that wanted little now to do with wars. Watching Eve go through her pregnancy without Virgil broke Xena's heart. She never wanted Gabrielle to know that pain, and she never wanted to know it herself either. That was her new reality.

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"Are you going to be all right?" Xena asked Eve as she saddled Sappho.

"I'm fine, Mother."

"We can still…"

Eve sighed, "OH NO….you are not using _me_ as an excuse not to go."

"I'm not…" Eve raised an eyebrow at the warrior. "She's fine….I'm fine… everyone is fine."

"Yes, and we know that doesn't mean anything in this family. One day can equal disaster."

"Mother…I don't want to upset you…but honestly she managed for eleven years…"

"Yes but she wasn't pregnant for eleven years, Eve."

"Mmmm… I guess that's true…but unless you plan on sleeping with Sappho for the next season I would suggest that you let her lead a bit."

"Thick as thieves, hey?" Xena smiled.

Eve shook her head. "She'll tell you if she needs anything….she's not THAT stubborn."

"And you think I am?" Eve shook her head again. "Oh...well…What about you and Gabriel while we're gone?"

"What about us?"

"Well…"

"Mother, Adriana is here, there are healers here…and you are only a 2 day ride away. Just go and see Lysandra. You'll be back before you know it… and we'll still be here where you left us."

"You could come…"

"No… I think you two need some time alone…you're not going to have much of that soon, believe me," Eve laughed. Eve understood several things about this trip. First, Gabrielle wanted to see Lysandra. Second, Gabrielle needed a break, and third, her parents needed some time alone. The warrior and the bard had spent most of their years together completely engrossed in one another. In truth they had not had much time alone since the warrior returned. Gabrielle had confided to her daughter that they needed some time. She needed to be able to reassure Xena and that needed to happen where Xena would best be able to connect. "Just go, Mother… you both need it."

Xena let out a reluctant sigh and nodded. It was a losing battle. Eve and Gabrielle had become closer than the warrior could ever have imagined. Eve would support whatever her younger mother thought best now; unless she had reason to believe that Gabrielle was in harm's way. Eleven years out of their lives had changed many things. The warrior smiled at her daughter. "I just worry."

"Well… I do too…but you know as well as I do, Mother, that things will happen whether you stay or go…so go."

"Eve… just promise me you will let Adriana help and don't overdo things."

Eve chuckled, "I won't." Xena hugged her daughter and led Sappho away to find Gabrielle. "Oh, Mother…Eli help you," Eve laughed as she watched her mother stroll away.

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Gabrielle sat on a large log near the water's edge and watched as the warrior stalked her prey in the water. True to form Xena was delighting in her duty. "Gabrielle… come on…."

"No, Xena. I am not coming in."

"Why not?"

Gabrielle just shook her head. "And don't even THINK about pelting me with those fish," she warned.

Xena smiled. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Ummm Humm… you just watch it or I will teach this child to shovel the stable in _your_ direction," Gabrielle winked as a fish landed at her feet. She looked at it and then back at the warrior, "Close…"

"You wouldn't dare…" Xena said considering the bard's stable threat.

Gabrielle smirked, "Oh, wouldn't I?" Xena shuffled her way onto shore and leaned directly over the bard dripping water onto her; another favorite game. "Nice…"

"Refreshing?" The warrior asked with a smile.

"Oh… it's refreshing alright," Gabrielle pinched Xena's side.

"Ow…cut it out."

"No," Gabrielle joked and pinched her again.

"Gabrielle!"

"What?"

"I didn't hit you with the fish – why are you pinching me?"

Gabrielle picked up the fish and looked at her lover. "For a warrior you certainly can be a baby," she laughed.

"Guess you'll have your hands full then, huh?'

"Yes, I will… and I may have to feed you… but I am not changing you too… let's go."

Xena smiled and followed the bard back to camp. She watched the bard as a familiar ritual unfolded. Gabrielle pulled out the bed rolls while the warrior cleaned the fish. Then Xena went off to tend to Sappho while the bard started dinner over the fire. It was so familiar. Xena took a seat on a log by the fire and watched Gabrielle flip the fish in the pan. She studied her partner; every inch; the way her hands moved, the expression on her face, the way the flames created a soft glow about her. Gabrielle felt her gaze, "What?" She asked never looking up from her task.

"Nothing."

"Mmm… are you hungry?" There was no response from the warrior. Gabrielle looked up to Xena to see tears slowly falling down her cheeks. She set down the frying pan and moved to her lover's side. "Xena, what is it…what's wrong?" Xena could not speak and simply shook her head lightly; closing her eyes. "What is it?" Gabrielle repeated.

"Gabrielle," Xena tried to make the words come. Their life together had been a never-ending series of upheavals and separations. Now, finally, they were together. They had the family the warrior never dreamed possible. Eve and Gabriel were with them, and here in this moment; watching Gabrielle; all of the warrior's attempts to busy herself were quelled, just watching. So many moments they had shared by a campfire talking, laughing; loving each other. It seemed as if the warrior had never been gone but in truth she had been gone longer than either could comprehend and they had only had each other's presence again for a short time. This time they had been given a miracle neither expected and both longed for. It filled Xena in a way that she was not certain she could describe to her bard and it terrified her.

"Xena…" Gabrielle lifted the warrior's chin gently with her hand. "Tell me," she whispered softly.

"I can't lose you."

Gabrielle smiled. "You're not going to lose me." Xena looked at the bard, almost pleading. "You're not going to lose us," Gabrielle raised an eyebrow.

"How can you be so sure?" The warrior asked.

"I don't know," Gabrielle smiled and looked at the small bump that had taken up residence in her mid-section. She moved the warrior's strong hand there to feel the ever active presence within. "I just am," the bard said; taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Xena felt a smile begin to work it's what onto her face but her apprehension remained. "You have to let go of the past, Xena," Gabrielle said softly. "Neither of us can change that…not any of it…now we have a future to think about."

"I know," Xena sighed. "I feel," she hesitated.

"What? What do you feel?"

"I was never fair to you…with Eve. And then…we lost her… and each other …. What if…"

Gabrielle nodded. "Xena…. Do you remember a conversation we had many years ago?"

"Which one?" The warrior said with a bit of levity.

The bard chuckled. "I was thinking about one that happened beside a lake much like this. You told me you never wanted to hurt me…intentionally or unintentionally?"

The warrior let out a sigh. She remembered. She remembered vividly. Things had been uncharacteristically quiet between the pair for days. Something needed to be said; anything needed to be said. When the words finally broke forth from the bard everything changed; forever. Xena had wanted to protect her; even form the warrior herself; but that was not to be. In less than an instant; with the simple admission; best friends became lovers and more, soul mates entwined in eternity and endlessly in love with each other. "I remember," Xena smiled.

"You can't protect us from everything….life or death…not me, not Eve …not Gabriel… not even this child. You just have to have faith that loving us will be enough."

The warrior looked into the sparkling green eyes that she adored. "Always the bard."

Gabrielle's smile grew and she caressed the warrior's cheek. "Always the worrier."

"Ummm," Xena nodded and then grew serious. There were moments when the warrior still surprised the bard. She could summon poetry when she allowed herself to release her emotions. It was another side to the warrior princess that few would ever have the privilege to see. For Gabrielle; those moments were like air to breathe. She watched Xena's expression transform and her eyes become misty with emotion as she continued. "Gabrielle…you are my life…this baby….when I look at you now and I see you - this light that overtakes you; well I fall in love with you again. Every time." Gabrielle's tears began to fall as the warrior confessed her emotions. "I do worry…that I won't be able to keep you safe enough…that I won't be enough…"

"Xena…"

"No…listen, please. I love being here. I do. But, the road…I'm tired, Gabrielle. Too much that I have missed. That we missed…with Eve…with Gabriel…I don't want to miss even a…"

The bard now understood. She kissed the warrior tenderly and looked into her eyes. "It's not the past…the reason why you are back…it isn't to relive the past. It was for Eve and Gabriel…it was for this…you know that…you have to have faith that it's the truth."

"How can you be so sure?" Xena asked. "After everything?"

Gabrielle felt the baby move and smiled. "Because I feel it every day…not just within me but around me. When I watch you fishing with Gabriel, when I look at Eve and hear her talk about our grandchildren…it seems so strange if I think about it. Here we are…waiting for this tiny person to arrive and our daughter is doing the same thing," Gabrielle chuckled. "It's almost like she should be my sister….but when I look at her, in my heart, I still see that infant I placed in your arms. All I know is we are all together. We have more than I would have dared to imagine. And, the loss fades every time I feel this life within me…and know it is part of what I love most in the world. I thought I had lost my faith forever when you were gone, Xena. No matter how much I loved Eve or Gabriel…I was lost…until I realized you were there…within them both. How can I not have faith now?" She, asked softly looking at the life that was between them, evident and still hidden.

Xena sighed and kissed Gabrielle's forehead. "Gabrielle, you are everything to me. I hope you know that."

"I do…Xena?"

"Yes?" The warrior asked allowing the bard's head to gently come to rest on her shoulder.

"Have you thought about names?"

"I have, actually," the warrior smiled.

"And…"

"How do you feel about Argo?"

Gabrielle slapped the warrior's hand, "Xena."

"No?" The warrior asked and the bard giggled. The warrior was crossing a bridge. "What are **_you _**thinking?" Xena asked.

Gabrielle sighed, "Faith…I was thinking, Faith."

Xena smiled and kissed the bard's head. "It's beautiful. I think it's perfect."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do."

"I love you, Xena."

"I love you too, Gabrielle…always." Xena held the bard a bit tighter and a mischievous grin took shape. Gabrielle was convinced the baby would be a girl for some reason and while Xena agreed that was likely; she could not resist the temptation now, "Gabrielle?"

"Hum?"

"But if it IS a boy… I think Argo could still work."

Gabrielle laughed. "You would."

"Whatdya' say?"

"No, Xena."

"Really?"

"Argo was a girl, Xena."

"Yeah, but…" Xena tried not to laugh.

"Well, you can name the baby Argo as long as you intend to sleep with said baby in the stable."

"Humph," the warrior playfully groaned.

"Are you ready to eat?" Gabrielle asked.

"Maybe in a bit," the warrior tilted the bard's face upward and kissed her. "I was thinking about that lake…."

"Oh?" Gabrielle asked with a grin. With a raised eyebrow and a gleam in her eye the warrior led the bard to the soft furs a few feet away. "You'll have to go fishing again," Gabrielle smirked.

"Mmmm… have faith," Xena smiled kissing the bard again. "I will take care of everything."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Eve made her way through the house to her sister's bedroom and sighed. Reaching the door she could see her sister huddled against her younger mother. It was a sight she had seen many times and every time it made her pause. She had missed those moments in her life and there were times; as much as she loved Faith; that she felt that sense of loss profoundly. Grace's confession that the young girl was questioning the messenger's love for her was devastating to Eve. Faith and Grace had always been a light for everyone in the family; a miracle that Eve and her parents would be eternally grateful for. Eve remembered Gabrielle's struggle to accept the fact that she was truly Eve's parent. This family was unique; blessed by something powerful. What Faith still could not fully understand was the reality that her parents loved in a way few ever would; and that their love spilled over into the lives of everyone it touched. It created a power for forgiveness and compassion that transcended this world. It was that power that gave Eve and her sister to her parents. It was that compassion that filled Callisto and transformed a bitter soul into a deeply loving entity; creating the life that Eve now had. It was that love that forced a goddess to see within herself the roots of her own being and embrace the selfless love she was created for; endowing that spirit within the small girl Eve watched her mother hold. These were not realities meant to be understood; only accepted. Somehow Eve needed to help her sister embrace that; not because she was the messenger, but because Faith was her sister, part of her.

Gabrielle looked up and saw the expression on her older daughter's face. Sometimes even now Eve looked just like an innocent child. The bard smiled knowingly and sighed. She loved Eve. She loved this child that fought the tears in her arms. And, she wished that she could have comforted the woman in the doorway this way when she was a child. It was strange how complicated things could become in this family, she thought; when it was the simplest of emotions that guided their lives; their love for one another. "Hey," the bard greeted her daughter. Faith immediately pulled away, not wanting her older sister to see her vulnerability. THAT was something almost solely reserved for the small blonde woman next to her.

"Hi," Eve said softly; meeting her mother's gaze. "I thought I'd check in on the patient."

"Mmm," Gabrielle stroked Faith's hair a bit and got up. "Well….then I can go take care of a few things before your mother gets back." Gabrielle looked at Faith who was staring at her bed and then made her way through the door. She put her hand on Eve's shoulder and smiled. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she smiled and looked back at the young girl on the bed, shaking her head slightly. "Good luck," she whispered to Eve.

"You didn't have to come, you know," Faith said quietly.

Eve sighed and walked to her sister's bed. "Hummm….did you think I wouldn't come see you?" Faith shrugged, still unwilling to look at the woman who now sat beside her. "How are you feeling?" Eve asked. The reply came as another shrug.

"I could have made it," Faith grumbled.

Eve bit her lip trying not to laugh. "I have no doubt." Faith looked up at her sister. "What?" Eve asked. "You are very athletic, Faith."

The younger girl stared at her older sister. "Not like you."

Eve nodded. "You don't think so?" Faith shrugged again. "Why is that? You are much better with a staff than I ever was."

"Yeah…because Mother is."

Eve sighed. "Oh, is that why?" Faith shrugged again. "So I guess the reason I write poetry comes from her too, then?" Faith looked up at her sister. "Faith, what is going on?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Why is that?" The messenger asked. Silence. "Faith?"

"You're better at everything."

"What are you talking about?" Eve asked.

"Everything Mum can do….you are better at it than me. Fishing, tracking…"

Eve shook her head. "That's not true, Faith."

"Yes it is…even Grace is better! And, I know why."

"Do you?" Eve asked.

"Yeah."

"Tell me," Eve said flatly.

"Because you are mum's and Grace is yours."

Eve shook her head. Faith was fighting tears again and becoming visibly angry by that fact. Eve did not flinch. She stared at her little sister and then closed her eyes. She spoke softly now. "Faith….Mother taught Gabrielle the staff. They have taught each other many things. They have taught me many things. Some have come more naturally than others….but Faith, I was not with them when I was your age. I was in Rome." Faith fought her tears. "You know, I loved to write when I was your age." The younger woman looked now at her sister. "Yeah….I much preferred my studies with scrolls to the sword, but that was not what I was trained for. I learned to read and to write…to recite poetry…but the sword – that was always the primary focus, and yes…I was good, just like our mother. But, every time I raised it I felt a piece of myself die. It wasn't who I was meant to be…who do you think that comes from?" Faith searched her sister's eyes as Eve continued. "It took me a long time to tell Gabrielle how I felt and it took her even longer to accept it…who we are to each other….all of us."

"But Mum …."

"Listen to me… our parents are not like other people's parents. Sometimes it is hard to understand; for all of us. Gabrielle is like my best friend, in so many ways….but Faith, sometimes….I see you here with her or with Mother and I wish that could have been me. I watched them when we were waiting for you. I wondered if that was what it had been like with me. You have no idea how much they both love you…what you mean to them."

"I'm not you…"

"No…and you should be grateful for that."

"But you are the messenger."

Eve chuckled. "What I am, Faith is just a woman who wishes sometimes she could run to the river and play with my best friend and have my parents yell at me for wading in too far."

"But Mother is…."

"I didn't mean Gabrielle, Faith…. I meant you."

"I'm not your best friend," Faith said sadly. "I'm just another kid to have around…I can never be your…"

Eve looked to the ceiling feeling her own emotions mounting. "Oh Faith…I am sorry." Faith could no longer stop her tears. "I guess sometimes I forget to listen, don't I? Too busy telling you and Grace what to do." Faith couldn't answer. Eve chuckled. "You two are so close… I never thought you really wanted to be around me." Faith looked at the woman who now had a tear falling down her cheek.

"But Mum… I can't be…"

"Faith…did Mother ever tell you about when you were born… I mean really tell you?" Faith shrugged. Eve smiled. "Well, I am going to tell you…you think Xena compares you to me? Oh Faith…."

"Gabrielle…. Would you please just take it easy?"

The bard laughed. "Xena we traveled to Tarturus the day you had Eve."

"Well…." The bard looked at the warrior with cautioning eyes. "Gabrielle…"

"Xena…it could be days… relax….you are making me dizzy. Why don't you run over and check on Eve and Grace… have Gabriel come over here for a bit."

"Gabrielle…"

"Oh… Xena… please…" The warrior sighed. "If anything happens…Gabriel will run and get you." Xena rolled her lips back and forth and shook her head. Gabrielle laughed and walked to the warrior. "Heaven knows I love you," she smiled. "Go see Eve. You know you want to."

"Why don't you walk over with me?" Xena asked hopefully.

"Xena…I'm tired…my feet hurt… my back hurts. And….I would love to spend some time with Gabriel before…"

Xena sighed and kissed the bard's cheek. "I got it." Gabrielle and Gabriel had a special relationship and the warrior understood that Gabrielle was determined that would not change and that Gabriel would feel a part of everything. She kissed the bard's forehead and sighed again. "Promise me…"

"I promise," Gabrielle said without allowing the warrior to finish her thought. She smiled broadly and took Xena's hand. "I will see you in a while." Somewhat reluctantly the warrior turned to leave.

Gabriel ran out the door and Eve looked at her mother who was holding Grace. "I'm surprised to see you," the messenger grinned. The warrior was momentarily preoccupied with the baby in her arms; touching her small nose and smiling. "You'll be doing that a lot pretty soon," Eve chuckled. Xena's face lit up at the comment and she smiled at her daughter. "Nervous?" Eve asked.

The warrior looked back at the small form in her arms. Grace was such a peaceful baby. Gabrielle had said her name seemed fitting. There was something graceful about the infant. For a newborn baby she seemed so calm and at peace. She looked so much like her mother, but with her father's eyes. All had noticed that; the twinkle of kindness that seemed to emanate from them the moment she managed to pry them open and look out at the world. Xena sighed. "Nervous? I just don't like leaving her alone."

Eve laughed. "Gabriel is probably already there. And did you see his face when you told him she wanted him to spend some time there?" Xena nodded. "They both need that, Mother. She'll be all right and so will that baby." Xena offered her daughter a crooked smile. Childbirth always had its risks. The warrior had seen many things in her years. So many things could go wrong. Gabrielle insisted that they simply have family present; Xena and Eve. No healers. Lysandra was due to arrive in another couple of days and Xena suspected that Gabrielle hoped the baby would wait for the young Amazon to arrive before deciding it was time to greet them all.

Gabrielle remained the most important person in Xena's world; as it had always been. The mixture of concern, love, excitement and anticipation was palpable around the warrior. She paced at night and found reasons to come home when she was supposed to be at the Tavern, or if Gabrielle was at the Tavern; she would show up with unneeded supplies. Eve and her younger mother were endlessly amused by the warrior's antics. The day before Gabrielle had received a strong rib shot from one warrior's baby and winced. The expression on Xena's face threw her daughter into a fit of laughter; panic. It was panic, but Xena was tired of waiting. She watched Gabrielle sleep at night and rested her hand on the bard's stomach, entertained and curious about every movement she could see or feel. When Xena was pregnant with Eve there were so many battles she did not have time to worry about the everyday concerns of birthing a baby. And, she never realized how those concerns had surely plagued the bard. Now, she understood. Looking at Grace now, she was suddenly overtaken by excitement and her face began to almost sparkle.

Eve smiled and closed her lips tightly. "It will all be worth it," she said.

Xena smiled. "I know. I still can't believe it."

Eve laughed. "What? That Gabrielle is having a baby or that she is having your baby?"

"Maybe both," Xena admitted.

"Different this time?" Eve asked with some hesitation and a hint of sadness.

Xena let out a strong sigh and put the baby in her cradle. She turned to her daughter meeting a similar pair of eyes. "It is." Eve nodded and her mother immediately saw the tinge of loss that in the younger woman's eyes. "Different because I understand now how she felt. She watched me endlessly. When she thought I was sleeping I could feel her gaze, feel her reach for me – for you. Now, I understand. There's no battle, Eve….different because it is quiet."

"Too quiet?" Eve asked honestly.

The warrior nodded. "Yes. And no." Eve was puzzled as she watched her mother sit in a chair at the small table. Xena put her emotions into tasks. Her confessions almost always were to Gabrielle and not to their daughter. There were things that needed to be said and as the warrior sat, she suddenly realized why Gabrielle had suggested this small jaunt across the town. Eve would now watch her parents raise a child. She would witness what she had lost. No matter how much time or how many blessings; the time missed would forever be a loss to them all, but mostly to Eve. "It's a different lifetime, Eve. Fighting Gods…well it kept my mind off of the other worries. Gabrielle carried those and she had to carry all of her questions."

"About me?" Eve asked.

Xena smiled. "Yes. I know…know who Faith will be…."

"So…you think it's a girl?"

Xena chuckled, "Don't you?"

"Nothing surprises me, Mother."

The warrior nodded. "I think if Aphrodite had any say it will be a girl," Xena laughed. "And probably very opinionated."

"I'd say," Eve laughed receiving a playful admonishment of the eyes from her mother. "Mother?"

"Hum?"

"Do you wish that it had been…"

"I wish a lot of things could have been different, Eve. But, Gabrielle always reminds me that if they had been there might not be a Gabriel or a Grace. You might not be who you are…and…"

"There would be no Faith. Was she excited?"

"About you?" Xena asked. Eve nodded. "You mean did she act like me," Xena now laughed. "No." Eve looked down. "She didn't pace. She didn't find things to do….she became the protector," Xena closed her eyes at the memory.

"You mean she fought?"

Xena nodded. "She didn't sleep. She kept watch every moment not just before you were born but afterward." If I slept she was awake…I'm not sure she slept at all for weeks. Always watching…every move. She wanted to stay with the Amazons."

"You didn't?"

Xena sighed. "I wasn't ready. And with Amazons? Eve…."

Eve laughed. "She did tell me that."

"She loves you."

Eve smiled. "I know that."

"Yes…but it is different," Xena raised an eyebrow and Eve watched her mother curiously as she continued. "She didn't know, Eve….that she was your mother….but she still loved you that way….from that first day I told her…she loved you…she carried on about what you would look like and about names. As I recall, Gabriel was a favorite of hers," Xena laughed.

"She loved me because I was a part of you."

Xena nodded. "That's true. But, Eve… what I just realized…just now…sitting here and looking at you….Nothing that is a part of e could ever not be a part of her too. Just like nothing that is a part of her could not be a part of me." The messenger studied her mother's expression as a soft smile crept onto Xena's face. "We have always been a part of one another. There is no child that either of us could bear that could not be a part of us both; somehow."

"Solon…Hope…" Eve asked.

"In their own way, even Solon and Hope. There isn't any part of me, Eve that is not part of Gabrielle. I wish that it could have been different with all of you."

"But now you will be able to…"

"Yes, we will. I hope so. But that will never replace what we lost with you." Eve bit her lip and nodded. "Gabrielle said the other night….she couldn't stop thinking about the day you were born. Every memory we make will have a piece of you in it, Eve."

The messenger smiled. "Thank you." Xena winked.

"MOTHER!" A small excited voice broke through the moment.

"What is it Gabriel?"

The small buy tried to catch his breath, "Auntie says go Grandmother…."

Xena sat frozen. "Mother?" Eve called.

Xena shook her head and looked at her daughter as Gabriel pulled at her hand. "Grandmother!"

"Go…I'll get Grace together and be there in a bit," Eve smiled.

The warrior felt her stomach lodge in her throat as she followed the boy out the door at his hurried pace. Eve watched the expression in her mother's face and laughed as she closed the door. She turned to the cradle and shook her head. She gently picked up her sleeping daughter and looked at her. "Oh Grace, I wish your father were here to see this." The tiny baby's eyes opened and Eve smiled looking into them. "I guess maybe he is…Well, Virgil," She looked up, "looks like the family is about to be a little bit bigger." She stroked the baby's head and smiled, "Come on, Grace…my turn to get a sister."


	7. Chapter 7

"Gabrielle?" Xena called inside the house as Gabriel pulled on her hand.

"Right here," the bard called back. She was bent over with her hands on the table trying to take a full breath.

Xena moved quickly behind her lover and steadied her. "Are you all right?"

Gabrielle chuckled. "I feel like your chakram is inside my stomach."

"Did you break your…." Before the warrior could finish her question she felt Gabrielle reach for her and squeeze her hand hard. Xena pulled the bard to her and held her gently. Gabrielle nodded yes as her face contorted from the contraction ripping through her. "Okay…let's get you to the bed." Gabrielle tried to move and stopped again wincing in pain. "Close together already," Xena scooped up the smaller woman in her arms.

The bard smiled as the pain subsided, "I'm not sure I'm in that kind of mood," Gabrielle joked.

Xena raised an eyebrow and shook her head, making her way to the bed. Within what seemed like seconds she felt Gabrielle's body tense again. The bard tried to smile but Xena could see the contractions were gripping her tightly. "Gabrielle, when did these start?" She asked as she laid her bard on the bed and propped pillows behind her back.

"Just a little bit ago…"

Another raise of the eyebrow and Gabrielle shrugged. Xena rolled her eyes. "I don't mean THESE…when did you start feeling the cramps?" The bard gave an innocent smile and Xena's face tightened slightly.

"Earlier…"

"How much earlier?" Xena asked. Before she could answer another wave of pain overcame the woman in the bed. Xena looked over to the small boy that was standing in the corner as the door opened. "Gabriel, go tell your mother Auntie Gabby is close." He stood still for a moment and then turned and ran to the other room. "Gabrielle," Xena said as she checked the bard's progress. "You're close to pushing."

"Yeah? Not close enough," the bard managed through another contraction as Eve entered the room.

"How's it going?" Eve asked noting that Xena was looking a bit pale and uncharacteristically shaky. "Mother," she called to her. The warrior shook her head slightly. "Why don't you let me do that?"

"No…Eve…"

Gabrielle looked to Xena and extended her hand. The warrior looked to their daughter and was met with a peaceful smile. She accepted the bard's hand and moved beside her. "Eve," Xena began tentatively. Eve just nodded her reassurance.

Xena was torn between wanting to care for Gabrielle and wanting to be beside her for the delivery. The warrior felt the warmth of her bard's hand holding tightly to her own and she heard the sound in the room, but somehow momentarily nothing seemed to register. It was as if she were walking in a dream, surrounded by a thick foggy mist. It was odd, she silently admitted to herself. They had done this before. Gabrielle, after all, had delivered Eve. And, as both recalled vividly, Xena had delivered Hope. But then there had been no time to think nor any time to prepare. In both cases life had been quick paced and chaotic. Not to mention Gabrielle's pregnancy had manifested and matured in what really amounted to hours. Her heart was racing now with excitement, curiosity and fear. Emotions swirled through the warrior as images played before her. It was as if she could see their children all there; all standing as children. She wasn't certain if it was dreaming or some sort of vision. Right near Eve, through the veil of mist that seemed to cover her eyes, there they stood. Solon and Hope were at the center. Gabriel was standing beside Solon. Holding her grandson's hand was an adorable little dark haired girl that she immediately understood to be Grace. A young Eve stood holding the hand of her older sister. Xena held her breath for a moment as the two girls seemed to turn to one another and released it when she saw Eve smile broadly and look to her right. Holding her other hand was a little girl with blonde hair and bright green eyes that twinkled. She looked directly at the warrior and Xena felt her knees grow weak. "Faith," she whispered."

There was nothing, nothing that Xena loved more than the woman holding her hand now. And no one else's voice that could have pulled her from her current haze. "Xena?" Gabrielle called to the warrior with concern.

As Xena moved to face her bard again she head Eve give the command, "PUSH."

"Xena!" Gabrielle's grip tightened and Xena immediately returned to the present, still misty eyed.

"It's all right, Gabrielle," Xena encouraged as Gabrielle caught her breath.

"Where did you go?" The bard asked still squinting and receiving a nod to continue from their daughter.

"Ask me later," the warrior answered. "Come on. Your daughter is waiting to meet you," Xena smiled.

"Yeah?" Gabrielle barked. Xena had been teasing Gabrielle mercilessly when they were alone that this baby might just turn out to be a boy after all and THEN the warrior would laugh that Argo would be the name. It made no difference what gender Xena's beloved horse had been. Anything that would get a little rise without any danger to her bard was fair game. "I thought I was having YOUR SON!" Gabrielle hissed through another push.

Eve tried to stifle a laugh and concentrate as a small head came into view. Her parents, as always, amused her. Gabrielle had told her that Xena had been a bit touchy during her delivery and just wanted the bard to "BE QUIET." The messenger let out a slight chuckle as she looked up to the glassy eyes of her taller mother and offered the trademark eyebrow raise.

"Almost there, Gabrielle," Xena bent over and kissed the bard's head.

"Come on, Mother…. Another push – a couple more and…"

"Xena! This may actually BE Argo I am giving birth to here!" Gabrielle screamed through another breathless effort. The bard's declaration eased Xena's tension and she smiled. All the warrior could see now were the green eyes of that little girl at the foot of the bed and her smile widened seeing the same hue, albeit glaring, looking up at her. Gabrielle ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek as she tried to catch a breath and looked into the warrior's blue eyes. "I'm serious," she panted as she readied herself for another push. "Aphrodite was a joker you know." The bard's brow tightened and she took in as full of a breath as she could. "If this is a centaur…"she pushed hard.

"Not a centaur," Eve exclaimed as a cry erupted. Xena looked down at their daughter as Gabrielle's head hit the pillow. "She's beautiful," Eve said softly.

Immediately, Xena turned to Gabrielle who was trying to pull herself to a sitting position. "Whoa," Xena warned. "Just wait."

It was only seconds but Xena felt as if it had been long hours until Eve set the baby in her arms. "Well, Faith," the messenger said as she felt the warrior take hold. "Welcome to the family." Eve looked at Gabrielle who seemed mesmerized by the warrior holding the baby. Tears were silently streaking across Xena's cheeks as she stared at the small package in her arms. Gabrielle just smiled and looked at their older daughter signaling that it was all right to go and check on her own children.

"She looks like you," Xena whispered faintly as she sat on the edge of the bed and peeled back the small blanket for Gabrielle to see and went to place the baby in her arms.

Gabrielle just looked at Xena and put her hand on the strong warrior's arm. The tears were spilling over the warrior's face more quickly than Gabrielle had ever seen and she could tell that Xena was not ready to let go yet. "It's all right, love. Just hold her," Gabrielle smiled.

"But you…."

The bard rested her head against her warrior's shoulder and gazed at the small face that wrinkled and twisted its expression, struggling for a way to open her eyes. She sighed in contentment. "I love you, Xena," she said as her own tears began to fall.

The warrior was taking stock of all of Faith's fingers and toes and running her long finger over the baby's nose and tiny eyelids. "She's perfect, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle ran her fingers now gently over the baby feeling Faith's softness. She struggled to catch her breath from the emotions of the moment as she watched their new daughter's hand reflexively take hold of the warrior's finger. Xena's expression was unlike any Gabrielle had ever seen; even when Eve was born. She was completely lost in the small form in her arms. She was not sobbing but her tears had not even begun to slow. The bard reached up and cupped her lover's face, directing the warrior's attention toward her. "Where did you go?"

A smile crept onto Xena's face. She searched Gabrielle's eyes and placed a tender kiss on her lips, feeling the bard wipe the wetness from her tear stained cheeks. As she pulled back she carefully positioned the baby in the bard's arms and finagled her way behind them both. Gabrielle felt the warrior's arms wrap around her; gently and securely holding mother and daughter. "I saw our children," Xena said softly.

"Our children?" Gabrielle asked.

"Mmm…all of them. I don't know, Gabrielle… they were all there. Faith and Grace, Gabriel and Eve… Solon and Hope." Gabrielle took in a sharp breath. "No," Xena calmed the bard immediately. "No, they were all smiling. All of them. I don't know. I think in these two little girls. I think there is a piece of them all."

Gabrielle nodded. It would not make sense to anyone outside of this family. To Xena and Gabrielle it made perfect sense. It was something they understood intrinsically from the moment they met. They were connected in a way that few would ever experience. It had, at times, felt like a curse but in the end it always proved a blessing. The warrior's strong hand took hold of the bard's smaller one as it rested on their sleeping daughter. "Xena?"

"Yeah?"

"She IS perfect."

The warrior smiled. "Do you know how much I love you?" She asked as her tears began to flow again.

Gabrielle's touch gently played over the warrior's grasp. "I do."

"She has your eyes," Xena offered.

The bard giggled. "She hasn't even opened them yet."

"Mmm… She does. I'm glad. I could look into those eyes forever," the warrior confessed almost absentmindedly.

Gabrielle sighed with understanding. It was a moment she would think about for the rest of their lives. It reminded her of the first time her eye's had met with Eve's. Gabrielle saw Xena there. The pools of blue were almost the exact same hue as the warrior's. She could lose herself there and never return. In fact, she had. Instantly she lost her heart to Eve just as she had to the warrior. It took so many years for her to see what she knew she would recognize immediately in Faith. Eve had Xena's eyes, but they twinkled with Gabrielle's passions. In her heart, Eve was always truly the messenger, a poet; a bard. "We might be in for quite the adventure then, my love."

Xena chuckled. "Why is that?"

"Something tells me we are looking at a little warrior princess in the making here," Gabrielle beamed.

"Nah… she's like her mom."

Gabrielle laughed. "That's exactly what I just said," she lightly slapped the warrior's hand.

"Thank you," Xena closed her eyes and kissed the top of Gabrielle's head.

As she opened them she heard Gabrielle's voice softly say her name. "Do you…." Gabrielle whispered.

"Yeah, I see them." It was faint, but this time Xena was certain the message was clear. Aphrodite and Eshmun had helped them, but these children, Faith and Grace, they carried within them a piece of the two children both women hardly knew, lost and would forever carry in their hearts. It was not a replacement. It was another chance. Xena took a deep breath and looked directly at the young boy and girl. Both smiled and were gone.

"You will always love your children. They….they will always love you both."

The voice was unmistakable. Gabrielle and Xena both looked at Faith. "Thank you, Eli," Xena said aloud. "Gabrielle?"

"Yes, love?"

"I think you picked a good name."

"I'm glad you feel that way," Gabrielle chuckled as the baby began to fuss for the first time.

"You are?" Xena asked.

"Yep," the bard bit her lip trying to suppress a smile as she set out to give their new daughter her first meal. "I have a feeling you are going to be saying it A LOT."


End file.
